måndag 12 oktober 2009

EU needs constructive criticism

It is a poor argument on the part of the Euromaniacs to label sceptics as unprogressive and Little Englanders, as they so often do. As someone who spends much of my time outside the UK, I can hardly be considered a Little Englander and as a beneficiary of the freedom of movement and residence that comes with EU membership, the last thing I would want is a break-up.

However, it does not help to turn a blind eye to the shortcomings of the organisation as at present functioning. There is a democratic deficit. Legislation, often ill-considered, is churned out, some of which can only be implemented at considerable expense and to little gain, or is positively counter-productive. Its protectionist trade policies work in the interests of the big trade cartels which have the resources to lobby at Brussels and Strasbourg, and against the interests of consumers. It has failed to devise an effective policy to protect fish stocks, despite ample scientific advice which would have enabled it to devise a workable strategy. And the Common Agricultural Policy is nothing but an expensive scam.

The benefits from infrastructure projects simply end up in the pockets of landowners in the areas that gain, since they just lead to an increase in rents and land prices. And the huge resources that were put into the Republic of Ireland merely generated a monster land price bubble, followed by a disastrous implosion.The EU is in need of constructive criticism instead of the uncritical support it gets from the Euromaniacs.